


Call For My Bones

by bluejoseph



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Band, Blood, Cats, Cemeteries, Crows, Death, Demonic Possession, Demons, Flowers, Ghosts, Jim the dog, Local Legends, Love at First Sight, M/M, Minor Character Death, Monsters, Mythology - Freeform, Omens, Pink Haired Josh Dun, Premonitions, Small Towns, Supernatural Creatures, Supernatural Elements, Teenagers, Urban Legends, except he's a cat, possesssion, seances, spooky shit, the Jersey Devil - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-13 03:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17480051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluejoseph/pseuds/bluejoseph
Summary: "We can't bury the wild animals."In which Tyler and Josh discuss demons on rooftops, summon a ghost, and manage to fall in love in a town where everything is what you least expect it to be.





	Call For My Bones

**Author's Note:**

> hello readers. let me just say...this fic has been a LONG time in the making. i've genuinely spent months on this fic, trying to make it perfect for you. I really hope you enjoy your stay here--and please, take care.

“I'm going to die,” Marie announced. There was a weary smile on her face, but if she was feeling any fear or worry about her impending demise, she wasn't showing it. She sat in her deep blue recliner, rocking slightly, seeming just as sturdy as ever. 

“Maybe it wasn't meant for you,” Tyler suggested from his place by the hearth, although he was doubtful about the statement even as he said it. Briefly, he glanced to the cat hovering above the pillow next to him, but it did not stir.

Rain pelted down on the roof in sheets, the sound mingling with the crackling of the fire in the hearth to create a rather comfortable atmosphere. Tyler was safe indoors, but he kept glancing upwards at the roof where, only an hour ago, an omen of death had been perched. It had let out a horrible, blood-curdling scream as Tyler approached the house, making him nearly drop the basket of bread in his arms. With a sinking feeling in his heart, he'd watched as it had flapped its great leathery wings and taken to the skies, flying back into the woods from which it'd came.

“It was for me,” Marie dismissed. “I know these things.”

Tyler found himself swallowing, and briefly, tears pricked at his eyes. “I don't want you to die,” he said.

Marie reached out one hand to the boy sitting by her feet, and Tyler took it. It seemed a little colder than usual. Perhaps she was already on her way out of this life.

“Death is not the end,” Marie reminded him, smile still on her face. “It's just a stepping-off point. I'll be back, and you know it.” She glanced to the window, though the shutters were closed. “Nobody in this town is dead for long.”

This reassured Tyler a little, and he made himself relax again. He didn't want to lose her, of course, but death could not be prevented, only delayed. In this case, however, not even that: he'd seen the devil on her roof, clear as day. Marie had a week, at most.

“I know it's not easy for you,” she said, gently, drawing him out of his thoughts. “You're young still, but I don't have any family nearby and...” she paused.

“Go on,” he prompted, sitting up a bit more and squeezing her hand to let her know he was paying attention. 

“I have some things to ask of you,” Marie said, “for when I pass on.”

“Anything,” Tyler promised immediately. Marie was one of his closest friends as well as his neighbor, and he'd known her since he was nine. He'd do anything he could to help her, especially in a trying time like this one.

She smiled. “I need you to take care of Jim for a while,” she told him, indicating the sleeping cat with a wave of her hand. “He doesn't like to leave the property, as you know, so you may have to come here to feed him. I'll give you the spare key before you leave tonight. That reminds me—I want you to know that you're allowed on this property anytime you want, whenever you want. It's already in my will. This place is just as much mine as it is yours.”

“Thank you.” Tyler gave Jim a short glance, wondering if he knew what was in store for his owner. It didn't seem likely; he was resting peacefully as always. “I'll be sure to look after Jim.”

Marie hesitated a moment before making her next request. “You're young, but...I want you to be there for my burial. You don't have to participate in the act of burying itself,” she added quickly, “but I'd like for you to be there. You're as close as I have to family in this town and you're important to me.”

He squeezed her hand again. It was still kind of cold. “Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

“I want to be buried by the big oak out back,” she went on. “I don't need a headstone or anything fancy like that, just a simple wooden cross will be fine.”

“I could make you one,” Tyler offered. 

Marie's smile genuinely brightened a little. “Thank you, Tyler. That would mean a lot to me.”

“I'll leave you some flowers, too,” he added, feeling a little better about the thought. Just because she would be dead didn't mean they couldn't continue being friends. “Red carnations. I know you like those.”

“Thank you,” she said again. “I'll be sure not to place any curses on you,” she added, making the both of them chuckle for a moment.

“There's one more thing I have to ask of you,” Marie continued. She moved one hand to the small end table by her side, opening the drawer there and pulling out an unaddressed envelope. “I do have distant relatives, believe it or not, and I'm leaving them this house in my will. They'll be moving here in a few weeks.”

Tyler blinked, surprised. “I thought--”

She shrugged. “My niece and her children. They're not the kind of folk to live in a town like ours, but they're good people. They'll be here, though, and I want you to look out for them, at least until I return.”

Looking after a whole family seemed a little daunting to Tyler, but he'd done plenty of difficult things in his life before, and he was sure he could handle this. “Absolutely.”

Marie passed him the envelope, and he took it. “I need you to deliver this to the oldest boy, Joshua. He'll be the man of the house, and there are things he needs to know.”

“I'll bring it to him,” Tyler promised, clutching the letter to his chest for a moment before carefully slipping it into the pocket of his flannel overshirt. 

“You might want to spend some time around him as well,” Marie added, a slight smirk on her face. 

Tyler was puzzled by her expression. Marie was rarely cocky. “What is it?” he asked. “What do you know that I don't?”

“A lot of things,” she said, and laughed at his expression. “Just hang around him, look after him. You'll know what I'm talking about.” He was still confused, but decided not to question her any further; sometimes it was better to wait and see when it came to her premonitions. 

The two of them sat by the hearth in a peaceful quiet after their conversation. Silently, Tyler mourned for a death that had not yet occurred, and wondered about a boy that he had yet to meet.

 

*

 

Holding a small pair of golden shears in his hands, Tyler stepped out into the back garden. Despite the cold weather, flowers of all kinds flourished there, from daffodils to daisies to dahlias. Tyler's mother was quite the gardener—and quite the spellmaster as well. It was thanks to her carefully cast charms that the plants survived in the chilly weather the region was often subject to.

Slowly, he knelt next to a group of brilliant red carnations. After uttering a prayer under his breath and softly asking permission to cut a few flowers, he waited patiently.

The wind did not shift, the sun did not go out, a swarm of bees didn't rise up from the bushes and attack him. Nothing. No response. This was a good thing.

With delicate hands, Tyler deftly snipped a few of the carnations, careful not to cut too many from the same plant. Once he had a small bouquet, he stood and brushed the dirt from the knees of his jeans.

“Thank you,” he said to the flowers. He thought one of them might have rustled slightly in reply, but it was difficult to tell.

Carrying the flowers in one hand and the shears in the other, Tyler managed to re-enter the house, setting the shears on the counter. “Mom, I'm going to Oak Lodge!” he shouted.

“Alright, come back before dark!” was the response from upstairs. His mother was likely in her studio, painting or practicing a new spell.

After tying the bouquet with a small piece of ribbon, Tyler stepped out the front door and started on the walk up the winding lane his house resided on. His house was about half a mile from the main road, while Oak Lodge was another half mile, at the very end of the lane. 

The pale sunlight shone through the trees as Tyler walked briskly. It was daytime, so it was unlikely that any dangerous creatures would be out and about in the forest, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Briefly, Tyler stuck his hand in his flannel pocket, feeling the smooth stones there. They, paired with the ash smeared on his neck and hands and lower arms, would bring him luck and hopefully keep him safe.

It wasn't a long walk to Oak Lodge, and Tyler was there before he knew it. Despite himself, he felt a small ache in his heart when he saw the minivan in the driveway and the cardboard boxes on the front porch.

True to both the devil on the roof as well as her own prediction, Marie died only a few days after she gave Tyler her instructions. He'd done all she'd asked: he'd been present at the small burial by the big oak out back, and he'd made and placed the wooden cross at the gravesite with care. He'd left her some flowers twice since her demise, and he'd come over every morning and evening to feed Jim, though the poor thing was clearly disraught about his owner's death and would hardly come out of the attic even when being tempted by treats.

The one thing Tyler hadn't done yet was bring Joshua his letter. The family had, as predicted, moved into the house a few weeks after Marie passed on. It had been a day since Tyler had noticed the blue minivan crawling its way up the dirt road, and he deemed that long enough to wait before delivering the note.

He'd brought some red carnations as a housewarming gift—he thought Marie might find that amusing, wherever she was now. It might seem a little odd to Joshua for a strange boy he didn't know to bring him a letter from an aunt he may or may not have even met, and Tyler wanted to put him at ease. He was nothing if not polite.

He climbed the steps up onto the porch and stood in front of the door, knocking briskly a few times. 

“Coming!” came the voice from inside, a masculine one. Suddenly feeling nervous, Tyler swallowed and straightened the high collar of his shirt. He'd dressed nicely—his usual red flannel, freshly washed and rolled up to his elbows, paired with his nicest jeans and his well-worn black combat boots. He wanted to make a good impression on his new neighbors.

The door opened to reveal the boy Tyler presumed to be Joshua. He wore a plain black hoodie, rumpled jeans with rips in the knees, and a pair of fuzzy purple socks. To both Tyler's pleasure and delight, Josh had a mess of curly pink hair atop his head; perhaps it was dyed. He didn't know anybody in town who had hair like that, and he was rather captured by it.

Tyler didn't believe in love at first sight. He did, however, believe in interest at first sight, and Tyler was certainly interested. He could practically hear Marie's laughter now; she must have seen their meeting and known right away about the attraction Tyler would feel towards her great-nephew. Oh, how comical.

“I saw the devil on the roof before your aunt died,” he blurted out. Immediately, he cursed himself mentally. That was definitely not the right thing to say.

Joshua only looked confused, however, rather than offended. He didn't say anything.

“I'm your new neighbor,” Tyler started over after clearing his throat. “I, ah, used to know your aunt.” He quickly fumbled in his pocket for the letter Marie had given him what felt like ages ago, and he thrust it into Joshua's hands. “She asked me to give you this.”

Joshua held the letter for a moment, staring down at it with a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes. Briefly, Tyler wondered if he'd even known his aunt existed before she passed away. “Oh. Thank you.”

“My name's Tyler.” He held out his hand again, offering.

A brief silence passed as Joshua stared at Tyler's outstretched hand, looking puzzled again. Tyler was wondering if he should take his hand back when Joshua finally grasped it, shaking it once. “Um, I'm Josh.”

“I know,” Tyler said, then mentally slapped himself in the face. God dammit.

Fortunately, he was saved from further awkwardness when a woman appeared from behind Josh. She was blonde, a little short, and very pregnant. “Hello! Josh, who's this?”

Tyler took this chance to regain his composure again, and he held out his hand. “Tyler Joseph, ma'am. I used to know your aunt.”

“You can call me Laura. Nice to meet you,” the woman said with a friendly smile, shaking his hand with no hesitation. “Marie was a wonderful woman.” 

Tyler still had his doubts that these people really knew her at all, but he didn't show it. “She really was.” Quickly, he held out the bouquet of carnations to Laura. “These are for you. A housewarming gift.”

“Oh!” She held her hand to her chest for a moment, as if surprised, and took the flowers from him carefully. “Thank you, young man! They're lovely.” She took a long whiff of the bouquet, smile growing. “Wasn't that nice of him, Josh?”

The boy blinked. He had nice eyelashes. “Yeah. Thanks, Tyler.”

“Welcome to Dogwood,” Tyler said, smiling politely. “I need to be getting home, but it was awfully nice to meet you. I live just down the road if you need anything.”

“Thank you!” Laura beamed at him, and Tyler decided that even if she did seem kind of clueless, she also seemed decently nice. “I'll be sure to do that.”

He offered Laura a final smile before glancing to Josh a final time. “See you around,” he said to the boy quickly. Before Josh could reply, he turned and went back down the steps, heading back towards home. He wasn't followed.

 

*

 

Tyler was eager to see Josh again, but at the same time, he didn't want to bother him so soon after an event as life-changing as a move to a new town. The morning after the encounter at Oak Lodge, he did his best to ignore all the excuses to go back popping up in his head, and decided to do something productive to keep himself distracted.

In the end, he settled for working in the garden out back. Although his mother's spells were very good at protecting the garden from frost, that was about all they did; the plants still had to be watered manually if there wasn't enough rain. Tyler spent the better half of the day filling up the watering can and lugging it out to the plants before emptying it out and starting the whole process over again.

He'd stopped sometime around two o'clock to sit in the shade of one of the pines ringing the garden's edges. It was cool but not unpleasant, and Tyler found himself halfway relaxing as he sipped a glass of water and watched the crows hopping about and cawing at one another on the roof of his house.

“Tyler, there's some boy at the front door asking for you!” came a shout from the porch, and Tyler looked up. His sister, Maddie, had her head sticking out the back door.

He quickly got up and jogged over, glass of water and cusp of relaxation forgotten. “Really?”

Maddie rolled her eyes. “No, it's actually Bloodybones here to ask you if you'd like to get lost in the woods with him.” 

“Very funny.” Tyler pushed past her into the house and rushed to the front door. He stopped at the mirror by the coat rack, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair, but remembering at the last moment that he'd shaved his head soon after Marie died. He moved his hands to adjust the collar of his flannel instead. God, Josh was going to think he wore the same thing every day. 

Well, he kind of did, but that wasn't the point.

After taking a deep breath, he opened the front door, and as he'd hoped, Josh was waiting there. He had a piece of paper in his hands, but looked up from it when he saw the door open. “Hey, Tyler.”

Silently praying that he didn't make a fool of himself this time, Tyler offered him a smile that he hoped was casual. “Hey.”

Josh glanced at the paper in his hands again. “Um, I have some questions about this letter my aunt gave me, and she said I could ask you.” He scuffed one of his sneakers against the doorjamb awkwardly. “Um, is there somewhere we can talk?”

Tyler's heart leapt in his throat. “Yeah, sure.”

He found himself opening the door wider to let Josh in, then leading him through the house to the garden out back. It was mostly private out there, with his siblings and mother all in the house.

Josh seemed rather interested in the garden. No, actually, astounded.

“This is beautiful,” he said, awe in his voice, and Tyler could almost pretend Josh was saying that about him. The thought made his neck go red.

“Thank you. My mom, ah, gardens.”

They took a seat under the pine tree Tyler had been a few moments earlier. The ice in his glass of water had melted. 

“So, what did you want to ask me about?” Tyler asked, after a brief but awkward silence.

Josh glanced at the letter for a moment, then back up at Tyler. “What was she like?” he asked, voice soft and curious. “I never, um, actually, met her.”

“Oh.” Tyler stared at the grass. “She was...smart. Really smart. She always knew what was going to happen before it did, but she knew when to keep it to herself. She was kind, too.” Silently, he twirled his fingers in the grass by his side, careful not to pull any of it up from the ground. “In a small town like this one, everybody pretty much knows everybody's names and everything, but I didn't actually meet your aunt until I was nine.”

Josh nodded softly, indicating for him to go on.

“We got her mail by accident once, and my mom had me bring it over. It was raining and she let me come in,” Tyler recalled. “I met Jim.”

“Jim?”

“The cat,” Tyler stated.

Josh blinked at him. “She had a cat?”

“You didn't know about Jim?” 

“No.” Josh fumbled with the letter in his hand, fidgeting. “I mean, she mentioned him in her letter, but she just said 'Jim'. I was going to ask about him. She didn't mention he was a cat.”

“He's probably still in the attic,” Tyler said. “He was real sad when she passed on.”

Josh nodded softly, but said nothing.

“I'm sorry. For your loss, I mean,” he added quickly.

The other boy laughed, surprising Tyler. “I should be saying that to you. You knew her better than I did.”

He wasn't sure what to say to that, so he said nothing. 

“Hey,” Josh said after a moment. “This doesn't have anything to do with the letter, but...” He tilted his head slightly and prodded at Tyler's blackened hand, making him jump slightly. “What's with the...paint?”

There was the tinest bit of black on Josh's fingers. Tyler carefully licked his thumb to smear the embers on his hands, covering the spot where his skin now showed through. “It's ash and finely crushed rosemary. It's for luck.”

Josh stared. “Oh,” he said, finally.

Then, “I should probably get going. My mom probably needs help unpacking.”

“Alright.” Tyler couldn't help being a little disappointed, but of course, he understood. “Do you need any help?” he asked as Josh stood up, brushing the grass off of his jeans.

“No, I think we're okay.” He hesitated. “Thank you, though.”

“Mhm.” Tyler stood as well. “I'll show you out.”

Josh almost looked as if he wanted to protest, but he stayed silent. Tyler led him around to the front through the yard, because it was a pain to go all the way through the house, and besides—like most people in town—they didn't have a fence.

“It was nice to see you,” Tyler told him. “Maybe another time?”

The other boy took a step down the lane, then nodded. “Yeah. See you, Tyler.” He offered him a half smile. There was something cautious, almost concerned in his face, but Tyler found it sweet. He sat on one of the old wooden benches on the porch and watched as Josh walked back home.

 

*

 

The thing about Dogwood was that it was a very small town. So small, really, that you couldn't call it a town. It was almost a village, but there were a few tiny local shops and a gas station, so maybe it was somewhere in between. Only about a hundred people called this isolated place home, and everybody knew everybody else.

Tyler wasn't at all bored of his town—he loved it, truly—but like anyone else in Dogwood, when someone new was hanging around, he was definitely interested. It was pretty rare for outsiders to come visit, much less move in. Naturally, Tyler wanted to see Josh again. Of course he did. Because he was new and interesting.

Fine. So maybe he thought Josh was pretty. Whatever.

And so, here he was, walking around the large blue van parked in the driveway. He'd brought a single red carnation for Marie, with plans to sit by her grave for a while and go over everything passing through his head lately. He had no clue where his deceased friend was right now—some place in between life and death, likely—but he hoped maybe some part of her consciousness might be near her final resting place, and she would be able to hear him.

There was also a big part of him that wanted to see Josh again, but he wouldn't let himself go over there for that alone.

Tyler felt a little weird about going onto the Dun family property without requesting so from Josh's mom, but Marie had given him explicit permission to come and go as he pleased. There was a little thing about disobeying the wishes of the dead; you didn't do it. Not without terrible consequences, of course.

Walking swiftly around the back of the house, he was slightly startled by a noise coming from behind him. Turning around, he realized it was coming from the cracked window that once led to one of Marie's guest rooms. Curiously, Tyler approached the window and peeked in.

It was mostly the same, except it had clearly been cleaned, and there were a bunch of boxes all over the floor as well as a new bedspread on the bed. Also, Josh was standing next to the dresser, putting clothes from one of the boxes into the drawers.

Without even thinking, Tyler tapped on the windowpane, and Josh jumped about a foot in the air. He whipped around, looking left and right before realizing where the sound had come from and seeing the boy at the window. Tyler watched him exhale with relief as he pulled the window open. 

“Jesus, Tyler, you scared the shit out of me. What if I was naked or something?”

For some reason, Tyler found this funny, and a broad grin spread across his face. “Sorry about that.”

“Yeah, sure you are.” Embarrassed as he looked, Josh smiled back. “What are you doing here?”

Tyler held up the delicate carnation in his hand. “Brought this for Marie.”

“Ah.” Josh glanced at the dresser to his right, then back at Tyler, as if torn. “Can I go with you?” he asked. “I mean, I totally get it if it's something private or whatever, I just—I haven't been to her final resting place yet. I, uh, don't really know where it is.” He looked sheepish. It was cute.

“Yeah, 'course you can come. She's your aunt,” Tyler reminded him with a little smile.

Josh stepped back from the window. “Cool. I'll meet you out back, just give me one second.”

Tyler stepped back as well as Josh shut the window, and he walked swiftly over the back door. He only had to wait a few moments before the other boy appeared. He had a small framed photo in his hands, one Tyler recognized immediately. It was a picture of Marie when she was twelve; it had always sat on the shelf above the fireplace.

“I wanted to bring something, but I don't have any flowers,” Josh said, almost apologectically.

The other boy gave him a quick, small nod, satisfied. “It's alright. I'm sure she'd like it.”

Tyler took the lead from there, showing Josh along the path leading deeper into the garden. When she was younger, Marie had been a great gardener, using natural talent as well as a few spells to keep the greenery healthy even in the cold. Now, the garden wasn't exactly in disrepair, but it wasn't as full and lush as it had once been. 

The big oak was doing well, though. It towered over the rest of the smaller plants, leaves as bright green as if it were spring instead of autumn. Just at the foot of the tree was the small wooden cross marking Marie's grave. Tyler, true to his word, had made it for her and placed it with care.

Feeling almost at home at the sight, he walked right up and flopped down alongside Marie's grave, laying on his back with his arms close to his body as if he were buried right there. Josh seemed uneasy at the sight, approaching the two of them much more hesitantly.

“Don't worry about it, she'd want you to be at home,” Tyler promised, giving him a reassuring smile.

Carefully, Josh set the photograph next to the cross and laid down next to Tyler, though far away enough that they weren't in danger of touching. He seemed nervous still. Perhaps it was because they were so close to a dead person.

It was peaceful laying here, laying sheltered between two bodies, shaded sky above his head and softened sun warming him. Tyler closed his eyes for just a moment and moved his arm up to put the carnation next to the photograph. Gently, he uttered a prayer under his breath, hoping it would protect Marie while she traveled from life to death.

A silence passed. Tyler felt more comfortable than he had in a while, and he almost felt as if Marie was with him, even if he couldn't see or hear her at the moment. He simply rested, arms crossed on on his chest like a mummy's, eyes closed and chin tilted upwards towards the sun.

“Tyler?”

He blinked open his eyes, glanced sideways at Josh. He was staring at him, leaning up on his elbows. “What?”

“Jesus.” Josh was still staring. “You look like you're dead. That's creepy, man.”

Tyler resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He closed them instead. “Something wrong with that?”

“I mean...” Josh trailed off. “Just, people don't do that in Columbus.”

“Is that where you're from?”

“Yeah.” Tyler opened his eyes again to see Josh squinting slightly up at the sky. He looked really pretty. It was distracting him from his little ceremony. “This whole town is creepy. Or weird.”

“How so?” 

Josh glanced around, as if looking for evidence of his claim. He turned his head upwards, waved a hand in the air. “Look at the sun, Tyler.”

Tyler did. It was a soft, white orb in the sky, faintly blurred at the edges. Nothing out of the ordinary. “I don't get it.”

“The sun doesn't look like that in Columbus.” Josh laid down again, rubbing his eyes. “The light looks kinda filtered, right? But then I look up, and there's not a cloud in the sky. It's like...gray, almost. It's been days. Is it always like this?”

“Yeah?” Tyler was only more puzzled. “That's just what sunlight looks like, Josh.”

“But it's not!” He sighed, frustrated. “Sunlight's supposed to be yellow, or gold. It's weird that everything's different here, and it's creepy that everybody thinks it's normal.”

“Every town is different. You can't move and expect everything to be exactly the same.”

“What was it you said when we first met?” Josh asked, as if he hadn't heard what Tyler said. He sat up all the way this time, facing the other boy and looking at him intently.

“Something along the lines of 'hi, welcome to the neighbourhood'?”

“No! You mentioned the devil. I don't remember your exact words.”

Tyler pondered this for a moment. “'I saw the devil on the roof before your aunt died'.”

Josh slammed his fist onto the ground. “Yes! Yes, that was it. What did you mean by that?” he questioned, eyes staring into Tyler's with even more intensity. Tyler swallowed.

“The Leeds devil,” he said, voice lowering as he said the creature's name aloud. “If it lands on the roof, someone in the house will be dead within a week.”

“You can't be serious.”

“Are you saying I made it up?”

“No, of course not,” Josh backtracked quickly. “But maybe it wasn't what you thought it was. Did you get a look at it? Could you describe it?”

Tyler glanced behind him, a little nervous. “It's, ah, bad luck to talk about it out loud. Might make it land on my roof in the near future.”

Josh scoffed. “You and your luck.” He paused. “Can you draw it?”

“Don't have any paper or anything,” Tyler said, almost apologectically.

Quickly, Josh got to his feet. “I'll go get some,” he said. “Wait here, okay?” he added. Then he marched back off towards the house, without even waiting for Tyler to reply.

This was a little weird for him. He sat up and stretched for a moment, legs splaying out comfortably in front of him. “I don't understand him,” Tyler said aloud, directed at the plot of churned earth beside him. “I like him, but he doesn't make sense,” he clarified. He wished Marie could respond. She always knew what to say.

A brief rustling at the treeline startled him, and he turned quickly, heart rate picking up. There were any number of dangers that could be in the forest, looking for a body to possess or a quick snack. He quickly pulled the Swiss army knife from his pocket, flicking it open and gripping it in his hand.

There was a blur behind a tree—something brown and white. He heard more rustling, but it was growing more distant now. Tyler was only a little comforted—the brief encounter had him on edge. He'd probably just startled a deer or something.

“Hey, what's wrong?” 

Tyler turned to see Josh walking over to him. The other boy plopped down next to Tyler, notebook and pencil in his hand. He looked genuinely concerned.

“Did you see that?” Tyler asked, directing over to the treeline with his hand. Reluctantly, he folded his knife up again and put it back in his pocket.

“See what?”

“Nevermind.” Deftly, Tyler took the paper and pencil from Josh's arms, and began to sketch.

The nearest school was almost three hours away, so Tyler, like most of the youth in Dogwood, had been taught at home. His mother was a brilliant artist who specialized in painting, and was able to weave spells into her works to make them come alive in ways that made normal paintings pale in comparison. Tyler was no Picasso, but he was decent at sketching and he enjoyed it as a hobby; it helped clear his head sometimes. In only a few minutes, he had a somewhat accurate drawing on the paper in his lap.

The Leeds devil, with its twisted horns, pointed tail, and forked tongue, was appropriately named. It had a body like a cat's, but bigger, and a head that looked like a cross between a horse's and a dog's, but with sharper teeth. Its front feet were paws, but its back feet were cloven hooves, like that of goats or sheep. The most noteworthy feature on the creature, however, was its wings. They were huge, batlike spans of skin and bone and flesh, nearly twice the size of its body.

Its eyes were also a shining yellow, which made you feel as if they were piercing into your skin you as it stared at you. Tyler was unable to express this in his drawing, though, because Josh hadn't brought colored pencils.

“Jesus fuck,” Josh whispered, staring over his shoulder at the drawing.

“You curse a lot,” Tyler commented. He thought it was cute.

“What the fuck is that?”

“I told you, the Leeds devil.” Tyler carefully handed Josh the notebook. “Here.”

Slowly, Josh took the drawing, and stared at it up close. He was quiet for a long time before speaking again. “How big is this thing, exactly?”

“Size of a German Shephard, maybe. I think they can get to the size of a cow, though, so this one must've been a youngling.”

“Jesus.” Josh put the notebook down. He seemed shocked. No—bewildered. Maybe frightened. “Did it—I mean, does it make any noise?”

“They scream like panthers.”

Another long pause. Then: “Maybe it was a heron.”

“Excuse me?”

“A heron. An eagle, or something.” Josh closed the notebook. He still looked frightened. “I mean, shit, Tyler. I...honestly can't believe this.”

Tyler shrugged. “Some neighbourhoods have raccoons. We have this.”

“That's so fucked up.”

 

*

 

For the next few days, Tyler stayed home. He enjoyed hanging around Josh, but he'd gotten a little behind on his schoolwork and needed to catch up. He took the time to go through it all, until finally his mom was satisfied. Tyler was pretty smart, and his mom was rather busy, so she usually let him tutor himself using his textbooks. As long as he turned everything in, it was a fine arrangement.

Josh didn't come by, or try to contact Tyler in any other way. He was a little disappointed, but put extra energy into his studies so he wouldn't have time to be bothered too much.

He woke on Saturday morning to a busy household. His brothers were playing basketball out back, his mom was rushing back and forth from the kitchen to her studio, and Maddie was laying on the couch, bundled up under some blankets. She'd caught a cold and had claimed much of the living room as hers until she was feeling better.

“Tyler, honey, can you pick up some groceries today?” his mom asked, rustling through the spice rack in the kitchen. She was trying to put together a ham for dinner. “I'd do it myself, but I've got so much to today, I don't know if I can get it all done before nightfall.” She sighed, frustrated.

“Yeah, no problem.” Tyler finished eating his cereal and put his bowl in the sink. His mom was often busy, and he didn't mind helping her out. “What do you need me to get?”

“Bread, shredded cheese, maybe some orange juice. Maddie needs more tissues. Cereal,” she added, starting in on the dishes. “Can you get that?”

“Sure. I'll pick up some coffee, too, I think we're almost out.”

“Thank you, I forgot that one.” She didn't look up from her work, but tossed her head in the direction of the coat rack. “You can get a few twenties from my purse. I want all the change back in my wallet when you get home, alright?”

“Yes, mom. See you later,” Tyler added, taking the money from her purse and slipping out the front door.

He waved to Zack and Jay as he got his dad's bike out of the garage. One of the tires was a little bit low, but it still rode fine. 

Dogwood didn't have a grocery store, but there was a minimart connected to the gas station. Since the nearest Wal-Mart was rather far away, most people just picked up their regular groceries at the minimart and went out of town a few times a month to get their more hard-to-find things. It was a little more expensive to be shopping at the gas station, but the drive really just wasn't worth it most of the time.

It was a pretty nice day to be riding a bike. It was cold, of course, but it was usually cold to some degree, so he was rather used to it. The sunlight was darting through the trees, soft and gentle on his back like a maternal caress. 

Briefly, Tyler glanced up at the sky. Something Josh had said yesterday, about the color of the light, made him think. The light was always like this—a filtered gray or white. It's just how it was, but...

Had there ever been a day in Dogwood that was warm?

A sudden flash of brown and white, in the trees on the left side of the road by the stop sign. Immediately, Tyler clenched the brakes on the handles, causing the bike to skid due to how fast he'd been going. He hopped off the bike partway, hoping he hadn't scared whatever it was back into the foliage. Then again, maybe he hoped he did. 

The figure was a little taller than him, but different in nearly every way. From the waist up, she had the curvy body of a woman, with pale skin and long, dark hair. He couldn't see what color her eyes were from this distance, but they looked big and dark. 

From the waist down, she was a deer. Her legs were long and exactly like those of the deer Tyler's father used to bring home from the woods; dusty brown fur with cloven hooves for feet.

Tyler knew about the majority of the creatures in the forest, but this one he had never seen before. He had heard her described before, though. Deer Woman.

The stories said not to approach her no matter what, and so Tyler stayed where he was until Deer Woman turned and crept back into the woods. He heard the rustling of trees and bushes, slowly fading as she disappeared.

He was almost certain he'd seen her at Josh's the other day, after the other boy had gone into the house to get the notebook. 

Tyler knew what it meant, seeing Deer Woman, but he couldn't do anything about it. Slowly, he got back on his bike and pedaled onto the main road.

 

*

 

After locking up his bike outside, Tyler went into the minimart. It was surprisingly empty for the middle of a Saturday, although there were two cars getting gas outside—nobody Tyler recognized. Mostly the only people who wound up in Dogwood were either just passing through, or hopelessly lost. These were the former, he guessed.

A girl was sitting behind the register on a stool, reading a large bound book intently. This girl was none other than Jenna Black, a girl whose house wasn't too far from Tyler's. They were sort of friends; they texted sometimes, and maybe they'd hang out at one another's houses once in a while, but Jenna went to school in Bleakrock, the nearest public school, so she was often busy. They did see one another now and then, however, when Tyler came to the minimart, since she often worked weekend shifts there.

Tyler thought about going over to say hello, but she seemed deeply involved in her book, so he let her be. He walked up the first aisle instead, trying to remember what his mom had asked him to buy. Tissues, he remembered, grabbing two boxes. Cereal, bread, shredded cheese. Oh, what was that last thing?

Bread! Tyler went down the next aisle, looking over the small selection. She hadn't specified what kind of bread...

The ringing of a bell startled Tyler, and he glanced towards the door. A small jolt of surprise touched his heart as he saw a mess of dyed pink hair. Shyly, he waved at Josh with his free hand, and he came over.

“Hey,” he said, the faintest of smiles ghosting his lips. He was wearing a black jacket today zipped up to his throat, and his hands were shoved in the pockets. Tyler didn't think it was that cold, but perhaps Josh wasn't used to the weather yet.

He returned the smile. “Hey.” 

Josh glanced over towards the counter, then back to Tyler. His smile disappeared quickly, and he lowered his voice. “Can you come over?”

Tyler tilted his head to one side slightly. “Is something wrong?” 

“Shhh!” Josh shuffled his feet nervously, glancing back towards Jenna again. “Just, can you come over or not?”

“Yeah. Sure, I can come over.”

“Thank you.” Something akin to relief glinted in Josh's eyes. “I'll meet you outside, okay?” He swiped a pack of oreos off the shelf and went up to the counter without giving Tyler time to respond.

He had no idea what was up with Josh, but briefly, he recalled how afraid he'd been at Tyler's talk of the Leeds devil. Maybe this had something to do with that.

Either way, he needed bread. He plucked two different loaves off of the shelf and carried them over to the register.

“Hey, Tyler.” Jenna put her book down to give him a smile. Her short blonde hair was tucked behind her ears today, showing off her black hoops. Jenna always wore black and nothing else. Her lipstick was black, her nose ring was black, her crop top and her skirt and her fishnets and her boots were black. 'Women who wear black lead colorful lives,' she'd told Tyler once. He liked that. Jenna was always rather poetic.

“Heard you were getting into the new boy's pants,” Jenna said with a wink. She was also kind of a jackass.

“What?!” Tyler quickly looked behind him, making sure Josh wasn't around. He could see him unlocking his bike from the rack outside. “Who told you that?”

Jenna smirked. “Nobody. Just a guess, actually.”

Tyler scowled. “Funny.”

“Really, though,” she continued, scanning his purchases. “I can tell you like him.”

Was it that obvious? He shrugged. “I may.”

“He's a cutie, you should go for it.” She clicked a few keys on the cash register with her chipped black fingernails. “That'll be eighteen fifty-six.”

Tyler gave her the money, and Jenna gave him his change. He took the plastic bags full of groceries and turned to leave. “Good luck!” she called after him just as he stepped outside. 

Josh was already on his bike, but he waited while Tyler unlocked his own bicycle and put the grocery bags on the handles. He gripped the handles of his bike, nodded to let the other boy know he was ready. “Lead the way.”

 

*

 

The ride to Oak Lodge was quick. Tyler probably should have stopped along the way to drop the groceries off at his own house, but Josh seemed genuinely upset by something, and he decided it could wait.

He threw the food in Josh's fridge, anyways, plastic bags and all. Josh didn't seem to mind. After shedding his jacket, he stood at the foot of the stairs—staring upwards, hand on the bannister, but not moving.

“Attic,” he said finally. 

“What happened in the attic?” Tyler asked in a soft tone, standing at his side. 

Josh didn't reply; he was clearly shaken by whatever he had encountered or witnessed. Tyler wanted to hold his hand and kiss his knuckles and tell him he would keep him safe, but it was almost certainly not the time. He gently wrapped his hand around Josh's wrist instead. It was cold.

“S'okay,” he said, keeping his voice gentle. He lent him a small smile, hoping it would comfort him. “Nothing'll get you while I'm around.”

Josh didn't smile back, but he did let Tyler lead him up the rickety stairs, step by step.

The first thing he noticed was the smell. He'd been up here many times to move furniture for Marie or bring down a box of old photographs, and normally the only scent was the musty-dusty antiques. This, however, was far different—it was rose perfume, strong and familiar. Another thing that was off about the attic was the furniture itself. It was rearranged all wrong; pushed up against the walls, laying on its side or even completely knocked over or broken. 

There was also something splashed all over the room, particularly the walls. It was a silvery gray, almost transparent, and seemed to have been thrown about with no rhyme or rhythm.

Josh was standing behind him, almost hiding. Or, rather, using him as a human shield. It was difficult to tell which.

Tyler strode into the room, although with caution. “Tell me everything that's happened.”

Josh didn't make any move to leave his place from the top of the stairs, only watched Tyler walk about with nervous eyes. “I didn't do any of this, I swear. Mom wanted me to bring up some boxes. Just as I was bringing up the last one, there was this sharp light and I couldn't see, and a bunch of crashing. I, um, kind of fell down the stairs a little.” Embarrassment was obvious in his tone, but he cleared his throat and went on. “The furniture was all over the floor, and there was that stuff on the walls, and I just.” He stopped.

Living in Dogwood, Tyer had seen scarier things than this, so he was more intrigued than afraid. Curiously, he wiped his finger down the gooey stuff on the walls. It was wet but didn't soak into his skin; rather, it beaded into droplets like water on plastic. He frowned.

“It seems like there was an angry spirit here,” he said eventually. “Judging by your encounter and the state of the furniture. But the only one I can think of would be Marie, and she was very at peace before she died.”

“Ghosts aren't real,” Josh whispered, but he sounded doubtful.

There was a rustling underneath one of the desks, and both boys jumped. Josh looked about ready to run back down the stairs, and Tyler probably would've joined him if not for the soft cry that followed.

He gestured for Josh to wait, then crept over towards the desk. It was the only one that hadn't been knocked about or moved in some way, and the sheet covering it was still in place. Slowly, Tyler got to his knees and lifted the side of the sheet.

A small, furry orange body was crouched there, eyes glinting slightly in the faint darkness. It was Jim.

“Hey, baby,” Tyler whispered softly, and Jim meowed. “Do you wanna come out?”

The cat seemed reluctant, but with Tyler's encouragement, he slowly slinked out from his hiding place. Tyler carefully scooped the cat up into his arms, and scrratched his ears. 

“It's just Jim,” he told Josh, walking back over to the stairs.

The pink-haired boy blinked. “I've been leaving cans of tuna up here every day, and they keep disappearing, but I haven't seen him.”

Jim tensed as Josh reached out a hand to pet him. “It's okay,” Tyler cooed to the cat. “This is Josh. He's a good guy.”

Josh's lips curved upwards into a small smile at the statement, and after sniffing his hand for a moment, Jim allowed him to scratch behind his ears. He seemed a little tense still, though. Pity stabbed through Tyler as he realized Jim had probably been up here since Marie had died. He always hid in the attic when he got scared.

“Let's take him downstairs,” he suggested, and Josh agreed, eager to leave the scene.

“I bought some stuff at the store the other day,” he said, leading the way through the house and into the spare bedroom. Well, Josh's bedroom now.

Taking a seat on the new rug on the floor, Tyler noted all the changes that indicated the room belonged to someone new. There were books and a few DVDs stacked on a small bookshelf by the closet. The bedspread was blue now instead of white, and there were a pair of slippers that looked like monster feet at the foot of the bed. There were cardboard boxes scattered here and there across the room, some empty and some full of personal items and clothing. There was also a certain smell that Tyler couldn't identify, something entirely unique to Josh.

Josh himself rifled through the closet for a moment, pulling out a plastic bag. “I didn't know what stuff he had so I bought the basics,” he said as he sat down on the floor next to Tyler, dumping out the contents of the bag.

There were two cat bowls, a brush shaped like a fish, a few catnip mice, and a small bag of treats. Almost the moment Josh opened the bag, Jim stepped out of Tyler's lap and crawled right into Josh's, meowing insistantly.

Josh actually giggled. It was incredibly endearing. It made Tyler want to kiss him.

“He loves to eat,” he said instead.

“Looks like it.” Josh let Jim crunch a few treats out of his hand, and his smile faltered. “What do I do?”

“About?”

“The attic. I mean, what can I do about it?”

Tyler frowned. “Probably the best thing to do would be to hold a séance.” 

Josh sighed, rubbing his temples. As Jim climbed off his lap and began sniffing around the room, Josh paced back and forth like a caged animal, going from the door to the bed and back. 

“This is crazy,” he proclaimed. “I'm going crazy.”

“Have you never held a séance before?”

“No!” Josh stomped one foot, frustrated. “No, never. Nothing in Columbus was ever like this. This whole town has to be crazy.”

“Depends on your definition of crazy.” Tyler understood that Josh was upset about the differences between his hometown and his new town, but he didn't understand how it frightened him. Every town has its own quirks.

Josh sat down on his bed, putting his head in his hands for a moment. He didn't cry, although Tyler could hear him taking slow, steady breaths to calm himself down.

“Teach me about a séance,” he mumbled through his fingers, and Tyler sat up straight.

 

*

 

Rain pattered on the windows in a gentle downpour. There was no moon that night, only a dark cloud cover separating the earth and the sky. It was almost peaceful, in a way, but gloomy at the same time.

The mood in Oak Lodge was certainly gloomy. After briefly going home to drop off the groceries, Tyler returned with permission from his mother to help Josh out with the séance. In fact, she'd given him most of the supplies they would need. “If you need any help with the ceremony, or if something goes wrong, promise you'll call me,” she'd insisted. Tyler had promised.

Now, he had laid out a large circle of pinewood candles on the cold hardwood floor, and set a bundle of certain herbs in the center. Josh sat nervously on one side of the bundle while Tyler walked around and lit each candle, one by one.

“I can't believe we're doing this,” Josh fretted. He'd been nervous from the moment they'd set foot in the attic. 

“It'll be fine.” Tyler shook the match in his hand and dropped it. The last candle was lit.

This did nothing to soothe Josh's fears. “Have you ever done this before?” he asked as Tyler took a seat across from him.

Tyler shrugged. “A few times. There was a spirit haunting our basement at home once.”

“And what happened?” Josh leaned in slightly.

“It almost burned the house down,” he recalled. “We had to call a professional exorcist.” 

Josh visibly paled.

“Don't worry, that was much worse than this.” Tyler reached his hands out to the other boy. Josh blinked, puzzled. “We have to hold hands,” he explained. 

Josh looked skeptical, but did what he was told. Tyler's heart went from a somewhat-steady beat to frantic, rapid pounding in a matter of seconds. Josh's hands were softer than he'd thought they'd be. He liked it.

After a moment, Tyler realized the pink-haired boy was staring at him and waiting for him to initiate the ceremony. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat.

“Spirits of Oak Lodge; I, Tyler Joseph, sound of mind and body, implore you to show yourselves.” He nodded to Josh quickly.

Josh swallowed. “I, Josh Dun, um, sound of mind and body, implore you to show yourselves.”

“We call upon you now,” Tyler went on. “Reveal yourselves to us this night, so that we may hear you and speak with you in turn.”

They waited. 

Nothing.

And then, everything.

A bright light, painfully blinding, in the middle of the room. Tyler closed his eyes, took a deep breath. He was suddenly chilled to the bone, yet sweat trickled down his neck. He could feel Josh's hands tightening their grip on his own, fingers trembling. He squeezed the other boy's hands reassuringly.

There was no sound, still; not even the rain could be heard on the roof. Then, a voice.

“Tyler, is that you?”

He opened his eyes again, blinking as they adjusted to the darkness. All the candles were out, but there was a soft light in the center of the room, hovering. The transparent figure of a woman. 

Surprised, he let go of Josh's hands and stood up. “Marie?”

She laughed, sounding as relieved as he felt. “It is you! Oh, it's so good to see you.”

“It's good to see you too,” he managed, filled with emotion. She looked different from when he knew her; she was younger now, maybe in her twenties or thirties. Her skin wasn't folded with wrinkles, her hair was long and healthy, she was healthy.

“Oh, and Josh!” She turned to face the other boy. “It's so nice to meet you. I'm your aunt Marie. I'd give you a hug, both of you, but it's physically impossible.” She laughed again. 

Josh himself had jumped back at first sight of the glowing. The look on his face indicated that he was scared, but not terrified. He wasn't running downstairs, at least.

“Are you in the afterlife?” Tyler asked. “I mean, have you made it?”

Marie shook her head. “No. I'm still passing through...” Her image flickered for a moment, and, indeed, it was rather faded altogether. “I can't stay long, I don't think. But I'm glad you summoned me.” She reached out to Tyler, as if to grab his shoulders, but they passed right through. 

“There's something coming to town, something dangerous,” she warned. Her eyes glinted with an emotion that seemed to be fear. But what would the dead have to be afraid of?

“What is it?” 

“Nothing of its kind has been to this town in almost ninety years. I was a girl when it happened. We buried our dead, we swore never to let anything like this happen again...” she faltered. “We were so careful, Tyler. You can't imagine what it did to us.”

“What is it?” he repeated, but she went on as if she hadn't heard him.

“But this can't be prevented. We can't bury the wild animals. We can't bury every deer that falls in the forest.” Her image flickered again. “I know what's going to happen. I can see it all. It has to be you.”

“Marie, I don't--”

“Tyler, can you hear me?” Her voice raised in pitch, almost frantic. “Are you still there?”

Then she disappeared entirely, and the attic was cloaked in darkness once more. Rain pattered steadily on the roof like nothing had happened. Tyler could hear a faint clattering from downstairs; Laura was probably making dinner. Did she know what had just occurred above her head? Did anyone?

“What was she talking about?” Josh whispered. His eyes followed Tyler around the room as he picked up the candles and avoided Josh's gaze. He didn't have an answer.

 

*

 

There were a lot of dangerous beasts in Dogwood. This, Tyler knew. He'd been born and raised here, he knew all there was to know about the creatures and customs of this town. 

From a young age, children were taught about the oddities and the risks they posed. Don't disturb or pick at plants of any kind, from trees in parking lots to flowers on the edge of the garden. Never waste anything that comes from nature, or you a terrible accident may befall you. Always close the curtains before the sun sets and don't open them or look out the window again until the sun rises. Children under the age of eight were mostly kept indoors unless under parental supervision. 

As you got older, you learned more. Ask before picking flowers, fruit, or vegetables from the garden, always. Keep a cat in the house or on your property, they'll ward away a lot of less-than-friendly spirits. If you find a stone on your porch, a faerie has left it there as a gift and you should accept it, seeing as it will bring you luck. Never talk to or acknowledge the children with black eyes, and never invite them into the house. Don't leave the house on a moonless night, and for the love of God, don't go in the woods alone. 

Needless to say, Tyler knew about as much about Dogwood as any other young adult who'd grown up there, but he had no idea what Marie was talking about.

Upon arriving home, he asked his mother about it, but she didn't know anything more than he did. “You should try asking the older folk around town,” she suggested. “They might remember.”

Unfortunately, upon asking around, nobody else seemed to recall or even know about the incident. Marie had been the oldest citizen in town by at least a decade, and so the oldest living souls in town now were likely not yet born when whatever it was that happened, happened.

There was a certain urgency to the whole situation. Marie had said something dangerous was coming to town, and soon, but how could Tyler hope to do a thing about it if he didn't even know what it was?

 

*

 

A few days after the séance found Tyler in the Dogwood local library, poring over a collection of old books in the reference section. The books were written by a man interested in the paranormal who had come to town many years ago, drawn in by the strange happenings there. He detailed all his strange encounters in his diaries, the very ones Tyler was reading now. 

It was almost funny, seeing this man's frantic handwriting as he described seeing a “coyote humanoid hybrid, with a lolling tongue and animal fur, yet the arms and legs of a man”. Coyote was a trickster sort of spirit that often stole small objects from people's houses, laughing in the middle of the night after a successful theft. He was pretty harmless, but the man writing about him had found him rather frightening. 

Still, despite the amusing quality of the author's entries, Tyler had yet to find any incidents on the same scale as the one Marie had talked about. There were no beasts in the diaries that Tyler hadn't heard of, either, and he was getting a little frustrated.

The door to the library suddenly swung open with a loud creak, carrying with it the sound of a rushing breeze—no, wings. Then the sound of the door slamming shut could be heard, and the wingbeats ceased.

Tyler ignored the minor disturbance and went back to the diary in his lap, flipping the page. There must be something here that he was missing...

“Hey,” came the soft whisper. Tyler lifted his head at the sound of the other person's voice.

Josh had kind of tapped out after the séance, nervously declining to go with Tyler when he asked him if he wanted to come research. Tyler couldn't blame him, really—the poor boy seemed rather shaken by the whole situation, and he understood why he was taking a step back. Josh was scared; he understood that.

But now, here he was, standing by the desk Tyler had been reading at. His hair was mussed and his jacket was coverered in dust, with a few small black feathers here and there. 

Tyler said nothing, just patted the desk chair next to him. His heart leapt in excitement as Josh took a seat.

“You look like you've been fighting a flock of ravens,” Tyler commented. This was technically possible; there was a murder of crows that lived in Dogwood, mostly congregating around Main Street. They lingered in the treetops and on the roofs of buildings, watching the people walking below and letting out their harsh cries to the pale sky. However, Tyler couldn't think of a good reason Josh would suddenly decide to brawl with a bunch of birds.

“There was a flock of birds outside,” Josh said, brushing a feather off of his sleeve. “I figured they were just normal birds, y'know, but then they dive-bombed me, so I ducked in here.”

“A cloud of starlings, I presume.” Tyler shut the diary in front of him; he wasn't getting anywhere with it, anyway. “Lucky you came in, they coulda carried you off.”

Josh laughed, but when he realized Tyler was serious, he stopped. “Yeah, I guess that is lucky.”

A brief awkard silence passed between the two. Tyler glanced back at the book in front of him. Marie's message had, admittedly, upset him. It wasn't fear, exactly, what he was feeling, but a certain urgency that comes from a lack of information and knowledge. He had to know what was threatening his town. 

“So...” Josh lightly nudged the book, as if he could read Tyler's thoughts. “Any progress?”

He shook his head. “No. I've talked to the oldest residents in town, I've looked through most of the older local reference books in the library, and there's nothing.”

“We can't bury the wild animals,” Josh said in a lower tone, echoing Marie's words.

Tyler didn't have an explanation for that, either. “We can't bury the wild animals,” he replied.

But...human beings. Yes, human beings!

He leapt up from his chair quickly, grabbing the book and putting it back on the shelf. He'd had his breakthrough.

“What?” Josh gave him a puzzled look, pushing back his chair but not quite getting up yet.

“We're going to the cemetery,” Tyler said firmly, certain now in his idea. He stopped, then, rubbed his neck awkwardly. “I mean, if you want to go. You definitely don't have to.”

He could see Josh hesitating. Then, he stood, sighed, and brushed another feather from his jacket. “As long as those starlings are gone, I'm in.”

 

*

 

The town graveyard was rather small, as most small-town graveyards tend to be. It was located on one of the smaller streets branching off from Main Street, next to the church. The graves were crowded close together, and many were worn and weathered from age. 

After checking to make sure the starlings were gone, Tyler and Josh rode their bikes to the cemetery. Tyler pedaled quickly, feeling a rush of excitement from knowing that he was closer to uncovering the mystery that his ghostly friend had set out for him to solve.

“So, why are we here again?” Josh asked as he chained his bike to the wrought iron fence. Tyler stood just at the cemetery gates, looking out onto the rows upon rows of headstones. 

“Marie said that after the incident, they buried their dead. Assuming they weren't buried privately, they'd be here.” He fumbled with the latch before swinging the gate open. 

“Wait,” came Josh's soft call, and Tyler waited. He didn't turn his back, just kept facing the cemetery. He heard the rattle of metal as Josh finished with his bike, and felt a hand slipping almost nervously into his.

“Ready?” Tyler asked gently, and Josh nodded.

Almost the second they set foot on the cemetery grounds, the dead became visible.

There were ghosts of all shapes and sizes—men and women, adults and children. They were wisps of their living forms, transparent but outlines just visible. The spirits flickered between the gravestones, talking and interacting with one another.

Tyler approached the large stone slab with the cemetery name inscribed upon it, gently pulling Josh along with him. Crouching down by the marker, he pulled a single yellow flower from his pocket and set it down. Respecting the dead, especially in their own territory, was important if you wanted to stay on their good side. He closed his eyes for a moment.

Then, the smell of animal fur, and a gentle panting. Tyler opened his eyes again to see a large black dog crowding around Josh, sniffing at his feet.

“Whoa! Hey there, buddy.” Josh got to his knees next to Tyler, and held out his hand to the dog. Sniffing for a moment longer, the dog pushed his head up under Josh's hand. Looking a little more relieved, Josh scratched behind his ears. 

“Right there, please,” the dog said. Josh fell backwards.

“Good to see you, Tyler,” the dog added. It sniffed Josh's shoes. “He's new, isn't he?”

“Yeah. Grim, this is Josh. He lives at Marie's place. Josh, this is Grim.”

“You can talk,” Josh said to Grim.

“Obviously.” The dog stopped sniffing at his shoes and sat down. “I can smell that you're confused, and I presume you're not from here.”

“I mean—yeah.” Josh stood up, brushed the dirt off of his jeans as he visibly tried to collect himself. “I'm from Columbus.”

“The first body buried in a graveyard is doomed to inhabit it for eternity, protecting the spirits there as they pass on into the afterlife.” Grim paused to lift his hind leg, scratching his ear. “Traditionally, a dog was buried there first so that human souls would be spared from the work. Church grims, they're called.”

Tyler could see the moment it clicked in Josh's head. “So you're the church grim?”

“Grim for short, yes, and I can tell you feel bad for me. Don't. I enjoy the work.” The dog stropped scratching its ear, finally, and shook out its fur. “Anything I can do for you boys today?”

“Yeah, actually.” Tyler sat in the grass. “Josh and I held a séance recently, and we were able to contact Marie.”

“Ah, that's good. Is she well?” 

He recalled her healthy, youthful appearance, and nodded. “She was still traveling to the afterlife, but she said she had a warning for us. Something dangerous is coming to town, and we can't figure out what. She mentioned that it'd happened when she was a girl, and I figured you'd know.”

“She said something about burying the dead,” Josh added. He looked a little wary still, but took a seat next to Tyler. “Humans and animals.”

The fur on Grim's back rose up. “Are you sure that's what she said?”

“Yes.”

The dog let out a low growl, but seemed to force itself to flatten its fur again. “Blurryface.”

The term was unfamiliar to Tyler. “Blurryface?”

“No. We—we shouldn't speak its name. Call it Blurry,” Grim said quickly.

“Who is Blurry?” Tyler asked in a quiet tone.

Grim sighed, laying down and resting his head on his paws. It was unclear to Tyler whether he seemed sad or defeated. “Any creature that is poorly buried, human or animals, leaves its skull vulnerable to it. When the skull of one such creature is visible under the moonlight, Blurry slips into it and wears it like a mask, and it takes on the form the creature once had. They can also control whatever creature it is that they have taken over. If it were to find a rat skull, for example, it could take the form of a rat, and control all the living rats within the span of a few miles.”

“But it could take over something worse,” Tyler guessed.

“Yes. It could control deer, or bears, or panthers.” Grim closed its shining yellow eyes. “Or people.”

“Did it control people when Marie was young?” Tyler asked, though judging by the pained look on Grim's face, he already knew the answer.

“Yes. Try to imagine it.”

He did. The people of Dogwood were under control by something that did not care for their well-being or feelings or thoughts, that didn't care if they lived or died. It could make them do whatever it desired, and they would be powerless against its will.

He shuddered.

“The only way to defeat a Blurry is to kill the original.” Grim opened his eyes again, lifted his head up. “Everyone in town was under its spell, and I was barely able to kill it. If there's another one...” 

“We can't let it control another person,” Tyler said.

Grim stood up abruptly. “Yes. Absolutely, Tyler. It'll try, I'm sure—there's no creature more dangerous than man—but if everyone is buried properly, it'll have to control something else. I'll see to it that everyone is deep underground.” The dog took a few steps away, then turned its head back. “I know this is a lot, but please, don't tell anyone. I don't want to start a panic.”

“Of course. We won't tell a soul,” Tyler promised. Josh nodded in assent.

Then Grim disappeared amongst the headstones, determined not to let a single bone glint under the light of the moon.

 

*

 

“Sometimes I still think moving here was a fever dream,” Josh admitted on the bike ride home. Tyler could tell he was still feeling anxious, especially after the talk about Blurryface, and so he offered to show him back to Oak Lodge.

“Almost anything has the potential to be a fever dream,” Tyler said. “The only way to know is to feel.”

“I guess I feel pretty real,” Josh concedes. “Just...nothing else does.”

The rest of the trip home was in silence, save for the crunch of their bike tires on gravel. Tyler scanned the forest for deer woman as they went, but he didn't see her again. 

Deer woman was a legendery spirit of the forest, one everyone aspired to see one day. While she never spoke, and it was dangerous to approach her, her prescence was an indicator. If Deer Woman chose to let herself be seen by you, it meant that you were falling in love. 

It was almost a rite of passage, like your first kiss, but much more important. You could only fall in love once, and if you saw Deer Woman, it was clear that your feelings for a person were significant.

It was clear already, to Tyler, who he had feelings for, but he was more than a little afraid to let them show. Josh hadn't mentioned anything about seeing a half-woman, half-deer in the forest, and if he didn't see her, then his feelings were likely not reciprocated. He would hate to tell Josh he was starting to fall in love with him, only for Josh to reject him. 

“Thanks for riding home with me.”

Tyler blinked. He hadn't noticed that they'd arrived, too caught up in his thoughts. Josh had hopped off of his bike and was standing next to him. “Yeah, no problem.”

The other boy tilted his head slightly, and Tyler was suddenly aware of how close they were to one another. It wasn't close enough. “Are you okay?” 

Tyler wanted to kiss him. Tyler wanted to grab him by the collar of his coat and bring their mouths together. He could practically feel Josh's warm breaths on his face. God.

Josh's lips were chapped.

“Tyler?” 

He realized he'd been leaning forward slightly, and stopped. “Sorry. I'm sorry. I should get home.” 

“Are you okay?” Josh repeated.

“Yeah. Just spaced out I guess.” He turned his bike around. “I'll see you around?”

“Um, yeah.” Josh looked a little puzzled, but didn't question Tyler any further. “See you around.”

Tyler pedaled off before he could embarrass himself any further.

 

*

 

For the next few days, Tyler and Josh didn't really see one another. They did talk on the phone a couple of times, however. Tyler had given Josh his phone number after the whole séance fiasco, so he could call him about any questions he might have about the town's oddities.

When Josh called to ask about the rabbits with antlers in his front yard, Tyler explained that they were jackalopes and that he shouldn't get too close to the males in case they turned on him and gored him straight through. When Josh called to ask about the weird pile of blue stones that appeared on his porch one morning, Tyler explained that a faerie was there and had left them as a gift, probably welcoming him and his family to the household. When Josh called to ask why there was ravens everywhere in town, even inside buildings, Tyler explained that they were perfectly normal, just that Dogwood tended to attract them more than other towns for some reason.

“There's this creepy fucking howling outside my bedroom window,” came a call from Josh one night. True to his word, Tyler could barely hear it in the background, a faint, dog-like cry.

“Are your curtains closed?” he asked. 

“Yeah. I convinced my mom to close all the curtains at night, like you said. She told me the howling was just a dog or something, but it sounds too, I don't know.”

“Human?” Tyler prompted.

“Yeah. It's like a dog, but more human.” His voice quivered just slightly, then he cleared his throat. “It's like laughing. Creepy as hell.” 

They were both silent for a moment as Josh turned on speakerphone so Tyler could hear the howling better. It sounded slightly different through a cell phone, but he recognized it.

“It's Coyote,” he said, a bit relieved. “Nothing to worry about.”

“A coyote?”

“Coyote. He looks and sounds really scary but he's completely harmless. He's like this creepy coyote humanoid, walks upright. Don't even ask me his origin story, because there literally isn't one.”

“Sounds pretty harmful to me.”

“Only thing he ever does is steal,” Tyler allows.

“What does he steal?”

“Pretty much anything. Food, trash, furniture, anything he can get his hands on. He always howls after he's successfully stolen something. Did you leave anything outside?”

“Oh my God, my bike.” 

“Your bike?”

“He better not've taken my fucking bike.”

“He probably took your bike.”

Josh let out a long sigh. Tyler tried very hard not to laugh.

“You should let Jim out at night; Coyote won't go near cats.”

“Now you tell me.”

 

*

 

“Are you busy today?”

Tyler rested his sock-clad feet on the headboard of his bed as he waited for Josh's reply. It was just after eleven on a Saturday, and he'd spent most of his morning helping his mom in her studio upstairs. Naturally, he called Josh as soon as she'd dismissed him.

“No. I mean, I've still got a lot of boxes to unpack, but I've been procrastinating that since I got here, so I can put it off a little longer.” Josh laughed a little into the phone. “Why?”

Tyler swallowed, almost nervously. “I was thinking maybe we could go to the diner? Um, for lunch?” 

It wasn't a date, not really, but it felt like one. Tyler would've liked more than anything to ask Josh out in that way, to bring him flowers and take him to dinner and kiss him over and over again before finally bringing him back home. 

“I didn't know there was a diner,” Josh said. Tyler was painfully aware that this wasn't a yes.

“Yeah, it's on Main Street, just kind of a small place. They have really good fries.” He fiddled with his rabbit's foot necklace. “So, um...”

“Oh! Yeah, of course I'll go.” Tyler grinned widely as Josh went on, he couldn't help it. “That sounds great.”

“Cool. I'll bike to your place. See you in fifteen?”

“See you.”

 

*

 

Tyler spent more time than usual getting ready. If this were anyone else, he's just throw on a shirt that wasn't dirty and head out, but this was Josh, and even if it wasn't a date, he wanted to look his best. He put on his best flannel—rolled up to his elbows, like always—and spent at least five minutes trying to make his hair neat in the bathroom mirror.

“What are you doing?”

He stopped fiddling with his hair, embarrassed. Maddie was standing in the doorway, looking puzzled. “Nothing.”

She walked into the bathroom, looking skeptical, and grabbed a box of tissues from under the cupboard. He cold wasn't quite gone yet. “You're preening.”

“I'm not a bird, Maddie.”

“Fine, you're cleaning up then.” She leaned forward a little, grinning. “Got a hot date or something?”

“No.” He turned back to the mirror, fluffing his hair up for a moment. It was just barely growing back from when he'd shaved it. “I'm hanging out with Josh.”

“Do you like him?” Maddie hopped up onto the bathroom counter, teasing demeanor gone. It was a little embarrassing to talk to your younger sister about boys, but Tyler had always gone to her when he needed some sort of romantic advice. She was always really nice about it, at least, and she truly did seem to want to help him out.

“Yeah,” Tyler admitted. He leaned on the counter a little, staring into the mirror. 

“You should ask him out for real, then.” 

“I don't think he likes me.”

“You'll never know until you ask,” she pointed out. 

He looked into the mirror for a moment longer, wondering if maybe he should. Perhaps this, this not-date, would be an opportunity for him to find out if Josh reciprocated his feelings. He could take him by the hand, and look him in the eyes, and--

No. He was too nervous.

“Maddie! Can you come help me with this spell?”

“Coming!” Tyler's sister hopped off the counter again. “Good luck, Tyler.”

“Yeah,” he said, though she was already out of earshot. He would need it.

 

*

 

Josh was just as pretty as ever when Tyler arrived at Oak Lodge. Maybe it was just what Tyler wanted to think, but it seemed as if his whole face lit up when Josh saw him standing at his door.

“You're pretty,” he said, without thinking. Then his brain snapped to attention, and he backtracked quickly. “I mean, you look pretty cold.”

Josh was wearing an oversized black hoodie today, as well as some fingerless gloves. Additionally, a gray beanie with tiny hearts on it hid the majority of his candy-pink curls. Tyler found it ridiculously adorable.

If he caught Tyler's misstep, he didn't show it. “Yeah, I'm more sensitive to it I guess. Are you ready?”

“As long as you are.”

They hopped on their bikes and headed out. The air was brisk, and, as usual, the light was a little muddled, perhaps a bit more than usual. Tyler tended to pedal rather quickly, but today he went slower, so that he and Josh could ride side by side. 

“So, Coyote didn't take your bike, huh?”

Josh gave him a sideways grin, which made Tyler grin back almost immediately. “Nah. He took some boxes my mom left out by the garage. We were gonna donate them, anyway.” He paused, eyes flicking to Tyler for a moment before going back to the road. “What does a coyote humanoid want with some old junk?”

Tyler shrugged. “Don't know. He stole the mailbox at my house once. I think he just collects stuff.”

The other boy nodded thoughtfully, but didn't respond. The rest of the trip was spent mostly in silence. Neither of them said a word as they rode their bikes into town and along the curbs of the sidewalks. The streets seemed unusually empty today; Tyler had never seen Dogwood so empty on a weekend. The only living creatures out and about, it seemed, were himself and Josh; and of course, the dozens of crows scattered across the streets, perched on buildings, cawing at them from the tops of the trees.

He was almost worried the diner would be closed, but thankfully the sign said otherwise. After locking up their bikes outside, the two boys went in.

The diner was a pretty small place—like most of the buildings in Dogwood—tucked into the corner of a gravel lot where people parked their cars before walking to other stores. The inside of the diner was just as tiny as the outside, having only a small counter with barstools and three booths to its name, although there was more seating outside, under the shelter of a few large, faded umbrellas.

The owner and main operator, Joe, was behind the counter as they walked in, reading the local newspaper; it was more of a newsletter, really. He glanced up when he heard the door open, and set the paper down. “Hey, Tyler. Surprised you're here.”

Tyler hopped up on a barstool with no hesitation, letting Josh follow suit. “Why's that?” he asked, leaning an arm on the counter. 

Joe shook his head. “Don't read the paper, do you?”

“Haven't yet today,” he replied.

Joe set the small newspaper down in front of him. “Leeds devil carried off Ms. Peale's dog.”

Tyler's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly grasped the paper, scanning the article on the front page. “No way.”

“For real, man. She went out to bring him in before dark and the thing had it in its claws. Eyes were like ink, she said. It hissed at her, real low, and it flew off. Nobody's been in today, so I assumed they were all spooked off.” 

Josh leaned his head over Tyler's shoulder to look at the article. “Jesus.”

“I know. That dog was pretty big, wasn't it?” Joe pondered this briefly. “Like, a shepherd. Wild.” He blinked. “Hey, you're new. Marie's nephew?”

“Yeah.” Josh shook Joe's hand when he held it out to him. “Josh.”

“Joe.” The chef took his hand back, glanced back at the kitchen, then to the two boys again. “So, can I get you guys anything?”

Josh glanced at the menu. “Um, I'll have a double cheeseburger and some fries. Hold the onions.” 

Tyler was still absorbed in the newspaper, but he glanced up briefly. “Oh, um, I'll have what he's having.”

“Gotcha.” Joe scribbled their orders down on a notepad and headed back into the kitchen, leaving the boys alone with their thoughts, and the disturbing article that they were both having trouble comprehending.

As far as Tyler knew, the Leeds devils usually stayed in the woods, unless they were landing on somebody's rooftop. Sure, he knew they were an omen of death, but they were otherwise pretty ignorant of people's lives, and avoided the streets of Dogwood altogether. He'd never heard of one ever killing somebody's pet. 

“So, this isn't a normal thing?” Josh asked slowly, eyes flicking down the paper in Tyler's hands.

He shook his head. “No. No, this is new.”

 

*

 

The not-date was nice, but Tyler couldn't really let himself relax and enjoy it. He had a sneaking suspicion, just a hunch, but he wasn't going to think about it any more than he needed to for now, because it wasn't good. He hoped he was wrong.

He felt strangely tense as he biked home with Josh, glancing behind him and at the tops of the trees lining the road. The Leeds devils weren't terribly large, but they were powerful, and one could probably carry off someone of his weight and stature.

“Thanks for taking me home again,” Josh said once they got back to his house. He rubbed his arm awkwardly, glancing at the ground. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

Tyler didn't bother to ask why. “Yeah, of course.” 

“I liked this,” the pink-haired boy added after a moment. Tyler's slight fear quickly vanished, to be replaced by a different kind of nervousness.

“Yeah?” he prompted gently.

“Yeah.” Josh stared at the ground again, cheeks suddenly pink, and he reached out quicky to grab Tyler's hand. 

It was a matter of seconds before Tyler's heart seemed to stop beating, before his knees went weak. He would've chided himself for being so ridiculously head-over-heels if he had a single active cell in his brain at the moment.

Metaphorically, holding Josh's hand was like holding a butterfly. No, it was like holding a cloud. No, it was like holding a moonbeam, just a sweet sliver of silver light in his palm. Tyler would compare it, later, to the strange connection between man and beast—it was like a wild animal, beautiful and powerful, had rested its chin upon his knee. He was being trusted with something special and so, so rare, and he could scarcely breathe lest he scared it away.

Literally, holding Josh's hand was nice. His hand was bigger than Tyler's, but softer. His fingernails were very short, like he chewed them. He had little hairs on his knuckles, and there was a tiny birthmark near the base of his thumb. It was very nice.

They stayed that way for a few precious moments, just standing there and holding hands, before Josh let go and climbed up the porch steps. He stood by the door, though, watching as Tyler somehow composed himself, got on his bike, and went to his own home.

 

*

 

Later that night left Tyler sitting on his bed, studying the newspaper. He'd left Joe's copy at the diner, of course, and retrieved the one from his family's own mailbox once he got home from the not-date. He hadn't told his mother about the incident at Ms. Peale's yet, deciding to leave the newspaper in her studio later so she could read it for herself.

In the meantime, he went over the article again. It was all just as Joe had laid it out for him—Ms. Peale had come outside; seen her dog, dead, in the devil's arms; it had hissed at her; and then, it had flown away, taking the dog with it.

Something about the incident stuck with him, in a way that made his blood go cold. Something about the way Ms. Peale had described the devil, with cold, black eyes.

Tyler was a little afraid to read into it too much. He sighed, rubbing at his eyes before tossing the newspaper onto the floor and flopping back onto his bed. 

He pondered and worried about the article for a few more minutes before his mind wandered to the moment before he had left Josh's house. An involuntary smile crossed his face just thinking about it, and he linked his fingers together similarly to the way Josh had done so, resting them on his stomach as he stared up at the ceiling.

Tyler well knew that holding hands was something that friends could do, but he couldn't help it—the way that Josh's cheeks had gone pink made him hope. Josh was kind of shy, sure, but maybe...

He wondered if he'd gotten any of the embers that coated his own hands onto Josh's. Maybe Josh was looking at the little smudges and fingerprints now, the little marks he had unintentionally left, and thinking about him.

Or maybe he had just washed his hands and forgotten about it.

A sudden rattling sound startled Tyler from his daydreaming, and he leaned up to see his phone vibrating on his bedside table. He picked it up, another grin crossing his face at the name displayed on the screen. He answered it. “Josh, hey.”

“I think there's a devil in the yard,” came the rushed, fearful whisper from the other end of the line.

Tyler sat up immediately, smile gone, and scrambled off of his bed. He held his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he sat on the floor to tie his shoes. “Where are you?”

“I'm in the shed.” Josh swallowed, and Tyler could hear it. It sounded strained, and with an urgent snap in his chest, Tyler realized he was trying not to cry. “I was by Marie's gravesite and I heard this screaming and I just ran in here. I think it's outside.”

Tyler tied his other shoe. “Okay. Okay, I'm coming.”

“I'm scared,” whimpered the voice from the phone. Tyler's heart broke.

“I know,” he said gently, trying to keep his voice steady as he grabbed his jacket and an item from his dresser drawer before rushing out of the house. “I know. It's okay. I'm coming.”

 

*

 

Tyler kept his phone to his ear with one hand, and steered his bike with the other, pedaling as fast as he could. He kept talking to Josh in a quiet voice to reassure him, only receiving frightened and shaky replies in return. All he could think about was Josh, all he could think about was getting him out of there.

He jumped off his bike the moment he arrived, letting it fall on the grass carelessly. The minivan was gone; Josh's mom must have been out. “Josh, are any of your siblings home?”

“They're in the house.” A rattling breath. “I told them to stay inside.”

“Okay.” Tyler slowly crept around the side of the house, peering around the very corner of it. The sight in front of him was one that made the hair stand up on his arms.

The Leeds devil was creeping around the edges of the shed, massive wings just slightly folded behind its back. He could hear its eerie hissing from here, see its matted hairs and solid black eyes. The smell of death hit Tyler hard, almost making him gag, but he tried to ignore it as he spoke into the phone. “I have to hang up now. I'm at your house. I'm coming.”

“Okay,” came Josh's tentative reply. Tyler hated to do it, but he hung up and slipped his phone into his pocket. He had to focus on the task at hand.

If the devil was here, clearly trying to hunt Josh down, then it obviously had malicious intent. If Tyler ran straight at it, it could attack and kill him in seconds. He'd grabbed a knife from his drawer at home—his father had given it to him, years ago—but he wasn't sure he could kill the devil before it killed him.

There didn't seem to be any other options, however. Maybe he could wound enough for it to fly away, and he could come out of it with only a few injuries. Swallowing, Tyler gripped the knife in his hand, its bronze blade just barely gleaming in the orange-pink light the sunset provided. The devil was starting to claw at the walls of the shed. He had three seconds.

One.

Two.

Tyler was just about to rush out into the yard when a rapid blur of a figure, brilliant orange, scrambled out from under the porch and launched itself at the devil with all the fury Tyler was feeling in his heart. 

A horrible scream filled the air as the two animals fought, the devil clearly taken by surprise. Tyler saw his chance, and he rushed forward, slashing at the darker-furred of the two with his knife while the other animal scratched at it with its claws. Once, twice, three times.

Another scream, anguished. Struggling free from both of its attackers, the devil crawled a few paces across the lawn before unfolding its wings, leaping into the air and taking off into the darkening sky. Its scream carried on for a few more seconds, echoing among the treetops, and it was gone.

The Leeds devil was gone.

Tyler was trembling from the encounter, knife still gripped tightly in his hand as he tried to catch his breath. He reminded himself that it was gone, but he was unable to turn away from the direction it had fled.

“Tyler,” whispered a soft voice from behind him, shaky. “You can drop the knife.”

He didn't turn around, but his hand released the weapon. It fell, silently, into the grass.

Then, there was a hand on his shoulder, and all the adrenaline in his body drained from him. The hand was joined by another, and then arms, and then Josh was wrapping his arms around Tyler as tightly as he could, face burrowing into the collar of his jacket.

It took a few seconds, but Tyler hugged Josh tightly in return, fingers clutching at his shirt. Josh didn't make a sound, but he could feel a dampness on his neck, and he realized the other boy was shedding a few tears of relief.

“Are you hurt?” Josh whispered.

Tyler hesitated. “No. No, I'm okay. Are you?”

Josh shook his head into the crook of Tyler's neck. “You saved me.”

“Yeah.” One of his hands moved up, automatically, to stroke the curls on the back of Josh's head. “Yeah, of course I did. Couldn't leave you out here.”

They stayed in this embrace for a few moments longer, before Josh finally pulled back, sniffling a little. “Thank you.”

Tyler felt the absence of him immediately. He blinked hard a few times; he was still having trouble believing that the creature was gone. He glanced at the large orange figure behind Josh, which was shaking out its fur. “You should thank Jim.”

The pink-haired boy turned, yelped at the sight. Jim had grown in size, and there was now a housecat the size of a tiger rubbing its head on Josh's leg. He began to shrink, though, as his fur flattened, and his tail slowly became less and less bushy.

“Has he always been like this?” Josh asked, kneeling gently on the ground to scoop the cat into his arms. Jim had a small cut on his leg, but seemed otherwise unharmed. 

“As far as I know.”

Josh stood carefully, so as not to hurt Jim. He met Tyler's gaze for a long moment, then looked back at the cat. “Stay the night.”

Tyler didn't dare argue.

 

*

 

Tyler slept on the floor. Josh slept in his bed. He tried to make Tyler take his bed, but the other boy refused, stating that he probably wasn't getting much sleep that night, anyway, and he'd rather Josh have a chance at it.

In the end, neither of them did much sleeping. Sometime around midnight, Josh crawled out of bed to sit on the floor next to Tyler, whose back was against the wall, clutching the blankets Josh had given him to his chest.

They didn't speak, just stayed there, quietly, for what must have been hours. When Tyler woke up, Josh was walking into the room, carrying a folded paper in his hand.

“Paper.” Josh tossed it onto the pillow in front of him. “There's been another attack.”

Tyler immediately sat up, grabbing the paper and scanning the article. It was one of his neighbors.

Murray was an older man, and a little out of his head. He lived in a small house at the very beginning of the road, with Tyler's house being equidistant from Murray's and the Dun's properties. Tyler didn't talk to him very often, but he would always wave back at Tyler when he biked to town, even if his eyes looked a little empty sometimes.

All Tyler knew about his past was that he was a veteran from the Vietnam War. It was hard to tell whether the war or just the daily oddness of Dogwood had driven him to be the way he was, but in any case, he was mostly quiet. When Murray did speak, it didn't often make sense, and he'd trail off in the middle of his sentences. Despite this, he was very gentle and kind. Tyler's mother would invite him over for dinner now and again.

He'd been attacked walking to town. Murray walked to town nearly every afternoon, carrying a book under his arm to return to the library. Someone had been driving by and seen him lying on the side of the road, pages ripped from his book and scattered across the concrete. Nobody had seen the attack happen, but there had been a heavy stench of death in the air, and someone had heard a distant scream, like that of a panther. The marks on Murray's body were deep, and consistent with an animal of the Leeds devil's size.

Murray was still alive, but he was in a coma. Nobody could ask him what he had been through, and nobody knew when, or if, he would wake up.

Tyler's blood ran cold as he read the story. Three attacks in the same week, and the warning from Marie. It couldn't be a coincidence. 

He looked up to see Josh, standing fretfully in front of him. His eyes were big, and he seemed on edge, as if waiting for Tyler to say something.

Tyler carefully folded the paper again. “We need to go.”

 

*

 

They ate a quick breakfast of cereal before heading out. Josh's mother was home now, humming as she washed their bowls in the sink. She didn't know about what had happened in the yard last night, or about Ms. Peale's dog, or about Murray. She didn't read the paper, and nobody was willing to tell her about the devils. It was unlikely that she'd believe them, anyway.

Josh's siblings, however, had seen the devil through the window, and they didn't dare go outside that day. They kept Jim indoors, as well. Fortunately Ms. Dun wasn't doing any yardwork or anything, what with being nearly nine months pregnant.

It was risky, obviously, to be out and about, but this mission was an important one. They didn't talk once on their bike ride, both pedaling as quickly as they could down the roads. Tyler was afraid to look at the sky.

They were both visibly relieved when they arrived at a tiny little shop with a faded sign that read 'Lindsey's'. Josh's fingers shook as he locked up his bike. Tyler pretended not to notice.

He felt even more relieved as they entered the shop. Everything from tapestries to bleached animal skulls hung on the walls, with displays of incense and herbs and strange powders crowding the counters. This place was practically a second home to Tyler—the place where nearly everyone in town got their more unusual supplies, supplies that made living in Dogwood a bit easier.

Josh wasn't saying anything, just gaping at all the unusual trinkets. The woman behind the counter smirked a little at his awed appearance. “Better shut your mouth, before you catch flies.”

Cheeks suddenly pink, Josh stopped staring and cleared his throat. “Sorry.”

“'S'fine.” She rustled the newsletter in her hand pointedly. “Don't you read the paper? Devils are about.”

“That's why we're here, Lindsey.” Tyler began to slowly walk up and down the aisles, perusing the items. “Thought we could use some extra protection.”

“Hmm,” was Lindsey's reply. She went back to her paper.

Josh followed Tyler down the narrow aisles, looking at the trinkets with curiosity but being careful not to touch. “Is that really why we're here?”

Tyler smiled, almost wearily, and ran his finger along the edge of a box containing a black powder. “We could get you some embers of your own,” he suggested. 

The pink-haired boy looked at the embers for a moment, then shook his head a little. “No. It looks better on you,” he added.

A grin crept its way onto Tyler's face at that. “Well, we've gotta get you something. I've got my luck, it's time to get you yours. Your ears are pierced, right?”

“I mean, yeah.” Josh was mildly distracted by a string of dried animal heads hanging from the ceiling, just a few feet above them. “What are these for?” he asked, seeming unsettled.

Tyler glanced up at them for a moment before going back to the charmed jewelry. “You can string 'em from the porch roof. Supposed to ward off evil.” He reached up nimbly to unhook a shrunken rabbit's head. “Why, you want one?”

Josh wrinkled his nose. “I'll pass.” He reached past Tyler to pull a pair of short studded earrings from the jewelry. 

 

*

 

They left with charmed earrings, red eye paint, and a small bronze knife for Josh, and some more embers for Tyler. Josh was rather reluctant about the knife, but Tyler insisted. 

“I don't know how to fight or anything,” Josh had said as they unlocked their bikes.

Tyler had shrugged, feeling uneasy now that they were essentially out in the open again. “I can teach you.”

He didn't know it yet, but there wouldn't be near enough time.

 

*

 

The mood in Tyler's house was wary, perhaps even fearful. Tyler's family had been made aware of the incidents with the devils, and Ms. Joseph had forbidden the children from leaving the house without telling her. “They're not to be messed with,” she told them over dinner, face grim. “I don't know what's going on, but I want you to be safe.”

After that, they'd eaten in silence, with only the sound of their forks scraping their plates to fill the quiet.

It was odd, then after, all the talk of the Leeds devils, that Tyler had a dream about Blurryface.

He was walking through the woods, familiar woods—the ones just behind Oak Lodge, it seemed. It was dark, which was what first alerted him to the fact that it was a dream. Tyler knew better than to go out in the dark; there could be faeries or amarok about, or worse. The Leeds devils were creatures of the night, he knew, and considering their actions lately, Tyler had a right to fear for his safety, even in a dream.

There was a full moon in the sky, which at least helped him to see where he was going. Tyler walked onward, venturing carefully, wishing he weren't alone in this dark place.

Suddenly, he froze, finding himself unable to move even when he tried. A cold chill raced up his spine, and he smelled death, strong and pungent in his nose. He braced himself, waiting for an attack.

“You think that you can stop me,” came the growling, gravelly voice in his ear. Tyler desperately tried to turn around, to see who or what was speaking to him, but he was still paralyzed. “But you are too late.”

The more the stranger spoke, the more Tyler realized it wasn't human. He could feel its breath, hot and rancid against his ear, as it continued.

“I am not coming. I am already here. And I cannot be conquered.”

There was a hiss, a scream like a panther, and Tyler was thrown to the side. Just as his head made contact with the ground, he woke in a cold sweat.

There was no doubt in Tyler's mind, now, that Blurryface was what was controlling the devils, as much as he wished it wasn't true. It made sense—Marie's warning, the unprovoked attacks, the black eyes of the devils, empty like the eye sockets of a skull. His dream only confirmed what he'd been suspecting. 

He recalled the scream, the way he'd been tossed like a ragdoll, and shuddered. 

It was time.

 

*

 

As he pedaled through the dark towards Josh's house, Tyler debated whether he was brave, or just stupid.

Perhaps, he thought, he was neither. His dream had frightened him deeply, and that seemed to have spurred him into action. Blurryface, true to its word, was not coming. It was already here. Tyler couldn't stop it from coming, but maybe he could make it leave.

He didn't know how Blurryface had managed to contact him in his dreams, but he was almost certain it had. He didn't know how it had known he was trying to stop it, either, but it had, and it had warned him. How much power did Blurryface have? 

The dark was twice as frightening, knowing so much, yet not knowing much at all. Tyler pedaled quickly, with only a flashlight for a guide. The light was scary--a devil could see it easily--but the dark was even scarier, so he carried on.

There was no way Tyler was going to be able to get into the house without breaking in. Briefly, he debated calling or texting Josh to get him to let him inside, but he was probably fast asleep, and thus wouldn't notice his phone chiming. 

Climbing in the window seemed easiest. Tyler made his way around to where he knew Josh's window was, and pulled his knife from where it was hidden inside his jacket. He slid the knife under the window's edge smoothly, breaking the lock and pulling the window up before pushing the curtains aside and carefully climbing inside.

Almost immediately, he was knocked to the floor by a dark shape. He could feel a blade, sharp against his shoulder, tearing at his jacket as the figure grappled with him. Tyler grabbed the figure's wrist and twisted it abruptly, causing them to release the knife with a grunt. 

“It's me,” Tyler gasped out, and they stopped fighting him.

“Fucking Christ!” Josh glared into Tyler's face, only a few inches from his own. “I could've killed you. What the fuck are you doing here? Why didn't you call me?”

Gradually, Tyler found that he couldn't breathe.

Josh's anger seemed to fade. His eyes flicked down slightly, and Tyler realized. He was staring at his lips. His heart was racing a mile a minute, and Josh was practically on top of him, and he didn't want to move or breathe or speak in case he scared him away.

Josh got up.

After a few seconds, Tyler got up, too, and shook his head a little. This was a really inappropriate time. No, he'd come here for a reason, and this wasn't it. His jacket was torn on his shoulder, where Josh had sliced at it with his new knife. He was a little bruised, maybe, from getting knocked down, but he was otherwise unharmed.

“I had a dream,” Tyler said, slowly.

Josh just nodded his head, looking as dazed as Tyler felt. He described his dream, carefully, without saying Blurryface's name. “I think it's been controlling the devils,” he explained. “And it knows I'm trying to stop it.” 

The pink-haired boy visibly shuddered. “So you came here?”

“Yes,” Tyler said quickkly, a kind of affirmation. “Yes. I have to find it.” A certain voice seemed to be whispering in his ear, encouraging him. Marie knew this was what he had to do, and she was here with him, even as she passed through the world of the dead. “It has to be tonight.”

“Why tonight?”

Tyler clenched his fists briefly, unsure how to explain it. “I just know, okay? I can feel it. It's tonight.”

Josh said nothing for a moment. Then, he rose from his place from the floor. Tyler watched as he slipped on his jacket, started to tie his shoes.

“You should stay,” he whispered. Josh just shook his head.

 

*

 

Josh grabbed Tyler's hand almost the moment they set foot outside. Certainly, he wasn't complaining—he could use the extra support, the assurance that he was not alone in this. 

A small shape ran up from under the porch as they set foot on the lawn, meowing instantly. Jim's eyes gleamed in the half-light, and he wound his tail around Josh's leg.

“Stay,” Tyler told him, reaching out for a moment to scratch behind his ears. “Protect them.”

Jim retreated, then, hopping up on the porch's edge and watching silently as the two boys crept slowly into the woods. Tyler knew Jim could help them take Blurryface down when they found it, but the knew they also couldn't leave Josh's family undefended. If they failed, at least, the cat could look after them once he and Josh were gone.

Thinking like that was unlucky, so Tyler stopped. He clenched his jaw, and he went on.

Tyler clutched his knife in one hand as he walked, and Josh's hand in the other, pulling him along gently. The pink-haired boy was perhaps even warier than Tyler was, staying close and glancing from side to side like a wild animal venturing into the city for the first time.

“You can still go back if you want to,” Tyler said quietly as they ventured deeper into the woods. His voice was just above a whisper. “Any time, if you want to turn back, I won't stop you.”

Josh was clearly distressed, but he shook his head no, and clutched tighter at Tyler's hand. 

The forest was eerily quiet that night. There were no hoots from owls, no chirps from crickets, no distant cries from amarok or Coyote. Even the faint lights that normally made themselves visible in the underbrush—faeries, strictly nocturnal beings—didn't show themselves. It was so unlike the Dogwood that Tyler knew that it made him nearly speechless.

As they approached the clearing in his dream, Tyler gripped his knife until his knuckles were white. They stopped at the very edge of the small open space, saying nothing. There were no obvious signs that anyone had been there, Blurryface or otherwise—there were no indentations in the ground, no blood spattered on the trees, no bones half-buried in the dead leaves. For just a flickering moment, for just a tiny piece of time in the cold, empty night, Tyler wondered if he'd been wrong all along.

And then Josh's arm was ripped open.

It happened so quickly that neither of them even saw it. It was just a blur, and then there were slash marks cutting straight through Josh's jacket, and then blood started pooling, and he cried out in pain. Reacting immediately, Tyler whipped off his beanie and pressed it over the injury, biting back the urge to scream out of fear and anger. Blurryface knew how to get to him. It hurt Josh, and it made Tyler switch from offensive to defensive. Indeed, while his knife was still in his hand, he was barely holding it, much more focused on trying to help Josh, trying to stop his bleeding, wanting to erase the pain written all over the other boy's face.

Josh pressed the fabric over his own wound with his other hand, and Tyler clenched his knife tightly again, turning to see the clearing completely empty. No doubt Blurryface was watching them now, circling them like they were prey. 

“I'm not afraid of you!” Tyler screamed at the trees.

Seconds later, he was thrown to the ground. He wasn't pushed; he was, quite literally, grabbed and thrown. Pain raced up his body as he collided with the solid earth, as his head slammed hard against it. Tyler's eyes shut for a few seconds, against his will.

When he opened them again, the world seemed to be spinning like a vortex, with him at the center. He reached out wildly, but there was nothing to hold onto. He felt like he might throw up.

Tyler heard a scream, then—Josh. He suddenly remembered why he was here, what was going on, and sat up quickly, head pounding. His vision was still a bit dizzy, but he could finally see the creature he had come to kill, and it had Josh in its claws.

Blurryface looked similar to a Leeds devil, in figure and feature, but there were some key differences. It was larger, for one, limbs less spindly and wings more powerful. Its fur was darker than that of the devils, being black rather than brown. Most noticeably, its head was not that of a devil, but a large white skull, with razor-sharp teeth and empty eye sockets. A skull—the skull of the devil that had seen the moon.

Tyler wished it could have just been fucking buried.

The creature had its front claws grasping Josh's shoulders, and it was flapping its massive wings, scattering dead leaves around the clearing. Josh was struggling in its grip, trying to get free, but Blurryface wasn't having it. It kept snapping at Josh's limbs, but he kept moving about so frantically that its jaws only closed shut on air. 

Tyler did the only thing he could do.

He staggered over, the world still spinning at his feet, and he lunged at Blurryface. Landing on its back, he plunged his knife through its wing.

It dropped Josh immediately, letting out a horrible scream, and it began flying all about the clearing, arms grasping and teeth snapping, but it was unable to reach him. Tyler slashed rapidly at Blurry's wings, slicing deep gashes through the relatively thin skin and spurting blood when he struck a vein. 

He plunged his knife deep into the left wing, just below the bone, and sliced downwards, cutting a large slit into Blurry's wing. The demon plummeted, tumbling towards the ground with Tyler in tow.

They both hit the ground rather hard, and the world spun again, but Tyler was too sick to try to hold on.

Still, even in this state he was aware of the heavy weight of the creature upon him. Its eyes, glowing red, seemed to bore into his skull, as if it were looking into him instead of looking at him. It reeked so strongly of death that Tyler thought he might throw up.

The devil did not scream, or hiss, or make any sort of noise. It just breathed. When it exhaled, Tyler could feel the puffs of breath in his face. He could see its teeth, long and sharp and glinting. 

His knife was out of his reach, and his embers couldn't protect him. He couldn't move his arms, and a creature worse than death itself was staring him in the face. This wasn't going to be a quick or easy end.

Blurryface raised its torn and bloody wings, and lunged.

Its head fell into Tyler's lap.

He scrambled back, startled out of his paralysis. No blood poured from Blurryface's neck, just dust, and then, nothing at all. Its body fell onto the leaves in a crumpled heap. Tyler found himself unable to tear his gaze away as its body slowly faded away, leaving behind nothing but the singular bleached white skull that had begun everything. Within seconds, it was crushed to bits beneath a white-toed sneaker.

Josh stood, shaking, with his foot on top of the remains of the skull. He dropped his knife.

In the span of a few seconds, Tyler scrambled to his feet, rushed to Josh, stumbling on unsteady legs, and finally, finally, kissing him. He cupped Josh's cheeks in his hands, and he kissed him. 

The pink-haired boy shuddered, and shuddered, and gradually, he stopped. Tyler's lips were an anchor, keeping him tethered to the ocean floor among the chaotic waves of the sea. His hands clung to Tyler's jacket, holding him, unwilling to let him go for even a moment.

There were no fireworks, there was no thrill or chill up Tyler's spine. There was only love, and relief. They made it. They were alive. Josh saved him.

After a few more seconds, Tyler separated their lips, but kept their faces close. Then Josh smiled, and he laughed, and then they were both laughing. They were alive. 

“We’re alive,” Josh whispered, giggling like a madman. “Oh, my God. Thank God.”

“Your arm.” Tyler directed his attention to the wound. “It’s okay? You’re okay?”

“I’m okay.” He let Tyler check over his arm, and indeed, the blood seemed to have nearly clotted. He’d need stitches, most likely, but he’d be just fine.

“It’s the luck,” Josh said, a faint smile on his face. “I wasn’t sure I believed in it before…but I definitely do now.”

 

*

 

They held hands as they walked back to the lodge. It was slow going--Tyler was still feeling a little dizzy--but he felt invincible now. They’d faced down the worst thing that Dogwood had to offer, and they’d defeated it. Tyler felt the rush of courage in his veins. They could take on anything. 

“Slow down,” Josh scolded, as he tried to pull them along quicker. “You’re gonna fall again.”

Tyler scoffed a little, but he did as Josh asked. It felt nice to hold his hand. It felt nice to be with him and not be afraid of what was lingering beyond his line of sight. 

“Tyler?”

He kicked at a rock with his shoe as they went on. “Hm?”

“The, uh…” Josh stopped as they reached the edge of the woods, and Tyler stopped with him. He stared intently, almost curiously at Josh as he rubbed his neck. “The…”

“Go on,” Tyler prompted.

“The kiss…” he paused again, and Tyler felt his heart skip a beat. “Um, did you, did you mean it, or was it, like, a heat of the moment--”

“I meant it,” Tyler said, quickly. “I meant it.”

Josh’s cheeks blossomed pink. “Oh.” 

“Can I do it again?” 

The pink-haired boy nodded, and Tyler pressed their lips together. This kiss was slower, less urgent. Josh’s lips were soft and shy and curious, and Tyler adored it. He curled a fist, gently, into the front of Josh’s jacket, making the other boy sigh a little into his mouth. God. Tyler could get used to this.

“Deer woman,” he whispered, almost the moment their mouths were separated.

Josh laughed a little, and his nose shifted against Tyler’s own. “What?”

“I’ve been seeing her,” he confessed. “She’s a spirit of the forest. She only appears to people who are falling in love.”

Josh’s teasing smile faded. “Half deer, half woman?”

Tyler’s heart leapt. “Have you--”

“Every night for a week,” he admitted. “She never came close, and she never caused any trouble, so I didn’t want to bring it up and worry you.”

He wrapped his arms around Josh’s waist, lifting him up in the air. Josh yelped in surprise, laughing as Tyler peppered kisses all over his face. “God. I think I love you, Joshua Dun.”

“I could say the same to you, Tyler Joseph.”

Both boys, suddenly heard laughter from behind them. They turned to see the wispy form of Marie, sitting in her rocking chair on the back deck with Jim sat neatly at her feet. As they ran back to the house, hand in hand, their voices filling the crisp air, Tyler could have sworn he saw Marie look straight at him. 

And she winked.

**Author's Note:**

> i took a lot of inspiration from Welcome To Night Vale, as well as urban legends and mythology, although not everything is exactly the same as in those tales. I might come back and edit this a little later for spelling errors/gramatical errors/plot holes. If you notice anything that looks incorrect or out of place, please let me know! I value constructive criticism just as much as I value any other comment. Again, thank you for reading.


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